The Cast Aways
by downtomars
Summary: She was broken when he found her and through him she was made whole again. "When you are out there, doing what you do best, you are my greatest everything. And when I'm down, keep on lifting me, keep on lifting me up." • [SasuHina, Post war, AU three-shot] • COMPLETE
1. part one

Lovely, that's what you are to me  
I love you when you're strong  
I love you when you're weak

繋がって

i

The icy grey sky restlessly grumbled. The thick blackened clouds were dragged down by the heavy rain which it held in its delicate frame. The clouds which struggled to withstand the burden of the weight that the rain held, soon gave in. The rain poured down over the forestry with a loud roar.

The sound of emptiness was disrupted by the lurid, gregarious boom of thunder. The cold icy rain pierced her pale and wet skin. She ran across the slippery path, her posture weakened by the weight of her soaked clothes. The quality of darkness shifted in the sky but the rain kept pouring. The harsh rain obliterated the crystal reflection of the sky and turned it into a disorientated chaos.

And for some reason as her swift strides became sluggish, she was content with the conclusion that she would indeed die that night.

ii

When he found her, she was covered in wet mud.

The turbulent brown tide eddied its way down the river bringing sticks and other mossy vegetation. It tugged at the banks eroding the soft mud and pooled around her small form. It was smeared on her pale skin and was caked in her long dark hair. Her clothes of quite expensive silks, were stained irrevocably.

Violent droplets of rainwater, thrashed at the ground, with ferocity unparalleled. The force of the impact caused shallow puddles to spit aggressively. The rain fell down constantly like an endless bucket of water being poured down from the heavens.

He looked up at the grim sky, his hair and face was completely soaked. The trees offered no shelter; droplets the size of almonds smashed their way through the foliage above.

As he gazed over at the sickly girl before him, his thoughts became unclear.

iii

Pale eyes fluttered open to sound of running water. Her sore muscles cracked and popped achingly as she rolled her stiff shoulders. It was then that she realized that – one, she wasn't dead – two, she wasn't outside or in the rain for that matter – and three, she was naked.

In fact, she was seated in an old bath tub that was slowly filling with warm water. The young girl let out a hushed sigh as she relaxed into the comfort of the bath, her eyes slowly closed once again. For the moment, she was safe in her own mind and she drifted into unconsciousness.

When she had awakened again, for the second time, she found that she was still in the bath tub. The dried dirt from her arms and legs lift with ease from the depths of her skin at the touch of a hand that wasn't her own. They were calloused and scarred yet gentle and yielding as if to not break her.

The girl jerked forward at the sudden contact. Pale eyes clashed with a pair of dark ones. Fear and the weight of her actions clamped down on her.

A shrill scream erupted from her lips.

She hadn't even recognized her own voice.

iv

She knew him.

In the back of her mind, she seemed to remember him well. She just acted like she hadn't. But a question that plagued her mind was whether _he_ knew her. Uchiha Sasuke. The aloof male lived in an old cottage a few miles from the borders of the land of Fire.

_Funny, he had been so close this whole time_, she mused.

And for the most part, he regarded her as a stranger in his home. She was fed, bathed, and he even let her sleep in his bed while he sought rest in the small living room.

He allowed her to wander outside for a few hours during the day. The meadow in the backyard was a glorious expanse of grass and field flowers, grass rustling gently in the breeze. There was a narrow brook flowing through it choked with weeds. Tall water-mint with pale lilac flowers, like dozens of tiny bells were growing at the edge of the brook.

But most of all, he was silent. He never said more than two words to her; she preferred it that way anyways.

It was hard not to fidget under his relentless glare as he set down the bowl of soup before her. Nervousness creeping into her bones. She let a pearly white tooth sink into her bottom lips so hard that it drew blood. He glared at her as it dribbled down her chin.

"Stop that."

His voice was calm and wasn't at all angry or harsh, but just the air of lithe authority was enough for her to immediately cease and desist.

v

The path she had taken through the meadow was as visible as any trail in fresh rainfall. The tall grasses, inflexible in their dryness were flattened from the far hedgerow to the canopy of woodland leaves where she now stood drinking in the shade. She marveled at her path, so ragged and bent, not at all the straight line she had imagined herself walking, metaphorically speaking.

The wild flowers were a cacophony of color on the fading green; purple thistles, blue cornflowers, red poppies and tall asters with their yellow centers. There was no coordination like the displays, just a free-for-all choreographed by the wind.

She ran.

She let her bare feet sink into the rain-softened dirt. She let the moist air run through the long silken threads of her dark locks. The loose yukata she wore blew with her, fleeing from her tiny frame.

She ran and ran and tripped, splitting her forehead against an undetected, jagged piece of stone.

vi

When he entered the cottage, he noted her presence was absent and had been for a long time. Setting down the spear and fish he had just caught, he slowly made his way into the bedroom. Its emptiness greeted him.

The backyard where she use to sit and watch the sky was also empty

Soon he came to the conclusion that Hinata was nowhere near the area.

His next thought was that she had returned home. Maybe she had gathered up her things and left willingly but even that thought was unsettling. He knew her well enough. If she wanted to leave, she would have had the decency to tell him rather than simply running off.

The Uchiha had seen the desperation in her eyes. It was a look he was all too familiar with, one that he had harbored years ago. There was no way she would return to the village. Not after what they did to her. He was missing something. Something wasn't right.

He bolted into the thick verdure of the wet forest and down a familiar withered path. Sure enough he found her for the second time. She was lying in the grass like a fallen angel with scarlet blood trickling from a cut on her forehead. For a brief moment, the curse mark that marred her pale skin was invisible to his black eyes.

vii

When she had finally awakened it was quite late in the night.

The white moon illuminated the tenebrous, starless sky as if the stars ensconced themselves behind the dim, gray clouds. Sasuke sat in a stool at her bedside, watching her with a smoldering gaze. It made her chest tighten. She wanted to apologize for causing him so much trouble but her throat was quite dry. As if reading her mind, he lifted a glass of water to her chapped lips.

She drank it all one gulp and he arose from his seat to fetch her more. When he came, he handed her the glass and she took her time drinking it, savoring its taste.

"I-I'm so s-sorry."

He only grunted in response. Dainty fingers reached to touch the bandage that bound her throbbing head. She could feel a painful headache gradually coming on. It was one of the many after effects of the jutsu that enslaved her to the Hyuuga. Suddenly her body went rigid with shock, her vision blurred with tears. Intolerable pain shot through her being from head to toe. Her fingers twitched uncontrollably. She couldn't even breathe.

"Hyuuga." She heard an urgent voice call. She couldn't turn her head to meet his eyes as she struggled against the seal the sizzled against her forehead like a hot branding metal. A pair of strong arms suddenly gripped her shoulders, pushing and forcing her back onto the bed.

Red eyes blazed before her. Three tomoe appeared in his eyes before they distorted into something more intricate.

_Beautiful_, she thought. And then the pain was gone. She felt nothing as her vision faded to black.

viii

It was almost as though Sasuke was both his adult self and childish self simultaneously. As if he never fully managed to grow up, part of him left behind in childhood, possibly because his emotions, so tightly reined in, could not manage to grow or mature.

He still seems to retain the innocence (yet not the naivety) and on occasion the emotions of his childish self, a young boy with outstanding deductive and analytical powers yet still, at heart, a child. A normal child with a sense of adventure, perhaps more pride than most, and maybe...emotion.

Hinata found herself wondering when he'd gone and locked up his emotions, throwing away the key. In her heart, she hoped to find this key and return it to him, so he could express emotion once again.

That was her only wish.

ix

Hinata was having a nightmare when he entered her room. It was late one night, Sasuke had just finished scouting the area when he felt her chakra spike. Immediately, he rushed to her.

Sweat licked at her forehead and the sides of her face. Unsure of what to do, he dabbed at her skin with a wet cloth in hopes of cooling her down somewhat. It didn't do a lot. But his touch had some affect.

He then took her hand in his own and with his thumb, he traced at the creases in her palm. He hadn't expected to wake up so suddenly and he felt like she had just caught like a dear in headlights. But a smile graced her angel-like features. Pale eyes glittered with unshed tears. Long lashes fluttered softly, beckoning to. Her lips quivered with words she couldn't quite form but he understood her well enough.

He'd make her forget and maybe she could help him forget too.

Sasuke hadn't even realized until his was only centimeters away that he was slowly inching towards the young girl.

Eagerness lay in the depths of her pearlescent eyes. Plump red lips grazed his own. An electric current surged through his body at her soft caress.

Something about Hinata was so utterly inviting, he wanted to stop himself from continuing but he didn't and soon he was on top of her. A burst of passion detonated between them and he was kissing her everywhere he could see.

Everywhere she touched sent him careening to another world. And in each other's arms, the two found solace from cruel world they lived in.

**EDITED: 26 July 2016**


	2. part two

Lovely, the world can be frightening  
You feel a little scared  
But you will get through it

繋がって

x

He made a big mistake.

Regret washed over him like the long, slow waves on a shallow beach. Each wave was icy cold and sent shivers down his spine. At that same moment, the woman under his arm stirred. He slowly lifted her bare frame from his body.

When he did, he felt colder than ever. A small part of him wanted to rejoin the warmth that she provided. She was like his little bit of home.

But a bigger part of him knew the repercussions would be grave so he didn't. A single night of blinded passion had caused him so much confusion, made his once simple life difficult. Sighing, he stood up from the bed with his mind made up. He glanced at the Hyuuga in his bed.

She'd be better off without him, he couldn't provide her with what she really needed. It just wasn't in him. So he did what he did best.

He fled.

The sole Uchiha escaped into the trees dodging tree branches and sticking to the tree-tops. After a complete day of running, he found himself envying the ground he walked on, hard and lifeless, unable to truly feel the torments of life.

xi

When she awoke the next morning, she was disheartened to see that the other side of the bed was cold and unoccupied.

There had been an overcast since she'd woken. At first she assumed that it was too early to be up, the light hardly penetrated the fabric of the curtains. But after some moments of trying to return to sleep she went outside to take a look for herself.

The dawn sun peeked through a hazy screen of clouds, painting the sky an elaborate mix of bloodied reds and vibrant oranges, intertwined with the smoky greys that permeated this skyward canvas. The sky was awash with various hues and shades of grey, in places a chink of light managed to break through. The air was humid and smelt of storms.

The thick blanket slipped off of her naked form; the feeling of warmth was gone. Her pale eyes darted across the room to pile of her clothes on the floor. Throwing on the yukata, she entered the main room to find that it too was empty. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

She remained on the back porch all morning. They dewy blades of green shrubbery moistened the soles of her bare feet. The grass grew in tussocks and flattened in waves with each gust of wind, only to spring up as fresh as a bunch of flowers right after. She sat there all morning and into the night.

Sasuke didn't return.

xii

She managed a whole week without him, even though she still stayed up most nights in hopes that he'd come back. She felt cold without his presence. His quiet nature was something she missed bitterly.

It was like everyone who got close to her—anyone who got near enough could see that she was diseased, plagued by something she couldn't see, something of the soul. Whatever it was, was there and it drove everyone away.

Hinata blames no one but herself. She'd driven him away with her constant neediness. This time she'd asked him to help her forget the pain… she had asked for one thing too many. She was wretched woman and a disgusting person.

Why couldn't the earth just swallow her up? Why couldn't her limbs disintegrate and scatter in the wind, in all directions until she was no more.

"If in life we are defined by the choices we make then I must be a monster."

xiii

Her self-loathing had spiraled into depression. She never left the cottage. She didn't eat or sleep. She didn't take strolls in the meadow or lay in the grass until the stars came out.

Late in the evening, she felt a faint trace of chakra nearby. She almost didn't want to get up, letting whoever it was just pass by. But then a single thought crossed her mind and before she knew it, she was running in their direction.

_What if it was Sasuke?_

When she finally made it to the edge of the woods, she idly noticed that the fireflies where out, swarming around her, glittering beautifully in the night. As the chakra signature broke through the field of trees, she realized how much of mistake her impulsive actions truly were.

"H-Hinata-chan?"

The adrenaline in her blood dwindled to nothing and she fainted.

xiv

"This is where you've been this whole time Hinata?"

Ino looked hurt but Hinata didn't respond. They had all sat back and watched the clan kill her spirit. Why should she take their feelings into consideration when they had all let her down?

"Everyone's worried about you." Ino took a sip of her tea. "Seriously, you should come home."

"This is my home." It was a hoarse whisper. Ino almost didn't believe it came from her shy comrade.

"You can't possibly be happy here." Ino looked around the old cottage. For someone like Hinata who was raised in royalty, she didn't know how the girl was managing. The Hyuuga did look a bit worse for wear. Her once chubby cheeks were sunken in, dark circles marred her aristocratic features.

"Hina…please let me help." She said and reached across the table to put her hand over her friend's frail hand.

Hinata didn't know why but Ino words broke something in her and before she knew it, she was sobbing against the blonde girl's shoulder.

xv

Over the past few days Ino had proved to be exactly what Hinata need at this time, a friend. She'd promised not to disclose her location which was a lot to ask but it was necessary. Ino had been on a mission when she stumbled upon Hinata so she left the day after, but made it her goal to visit as frequently as she could.

By the third week, Hinata became extremely ill. Cold sweats overtook her in the night and vomiting greeted her for many mornings. Hinata was fatigued, more so than usual. And the curse mark she bore was giving her constant headaches.

When Ino found her lying by the toilet, she gave an incredulous look.

_He_ had left her with a gift.

xvi

Ino was outraged. She hadn't felt this angry in a very long time. Hinata lay in her bed with a solemn look on her face. "Why won't you tell me who it is?!" Ino was about ready to yank her hair at how calm Hinata was taking this. "Hinata!"

"It's n-not important."

"What?! Yes it is!" She sat down on the bed next to Hyuuga with a huff. She didn't want to forcibly pull the information out of her head but… it was tempting.

"Were you raped, Hina? Because if you were, I can help, just describe him to me. I'll take care of it…I-I'll take care of you."

The Hyuuga in question only turned over to face away from her.

"I wasn't raped Ino… I-I'm really tired, can I—"

"Yeah sure whatever." Ino cut in. An hour later Ino was gone, vowing to come back and check on her in a few days.

xvii

Five months later Hinata's stomach is swollen with the weight of another human being inside her. Ino doesn't know if it's appropriate to say but she thinks that motherhood suits her.

Ino isn't the only person that knows now, just a month ago she told Sakura.

The pink-haired kunoichi had gotten wise to the Yamanaka's random disappearance and confronted the girl about, even threatened to tell the Hokage.

Ino had no other choice, but it was a good judgment call. With the pregnancy, Hinata was getting sicker and Ino wasn't sure if this was way out of her range of knowledge especially given the unusual circumstances. But after taking Sakura to Hinata, the three girls decided that they'd see it through.

They vowed to be there for the Hyuuga, despite everything that happened.

Another four months later, Hinata gave birth to a little boy. And they still had no idea who the father was.

* * *

**Author's Note: So um...I'm just going to let this spin out of control, haha just stick around for the ride. **


	3. part three (final)

Run, run and don't look back  
Have no fear  
And I'll meet you there

繋がって

xviii

Hinata watches in awe as her new baby latches onto her nipple for the first time. In that moment she feels a connection to her child, a bond that cannot be broken by distance or time.

Toshiro.

That's what she names the bundle in her arms and even as a new born she can see that he will live up to his name's meaning. He is bright, intelligent, and in many ways Hinata is assured that he is also gifted. He will exceed her in all facets.

The Hyuuga can't explain the contentment she feels when holding him but she basks in it. Her flesh. Her blood, a child born out of a peculiar circumstance and yet she wouldn't have had it any other way. His grip on her goes lax and she knows he asleep for the moment but she can't bring herself to put him down.

She sways to a tuneless melody, sings lullabies to a baby already consumed with slumber.

xix

He doesn't cry and that's probably the least odd thing about this child. Ino peers over his cot, she can't decipher the uneasiness she feels.

The blonde kunoichi has been around a lot of babies, from the ones in her clan to the ones at the hospital. They are delicate, fractious, needy creatures. They are used to swimming in the darkness of their mother's womb, that their eyes don't adjust to light, but this kid, he was different. He looked at everything with a kind of sincere curiosity, a look mostly seen in a child three years his senior.

He's a sweetheart though, Ino concludes. Maybe all Hyuuga babies are like this. And after that she feels silly for thinking such strange things earlier.

xx

Shiro-kun is beautiful and Sakura doesn't mean it in the conventional sense. Hinata's baby is _actually_ beautiful, divine even. Sakura can think of only one word: angelic.

His skin is pale pink, soft and smooth. His ebony hair is wavy. Shiny ringlets frame his small face and in the light it radiates indigo or blueish-black like his mother's. His eyes are warm and brown and wide. He's smart and actively identifies his surroundings and the faces he recognizes.

At three months now, his awareness is a lot sharper than that of most babies his age. Sakura is both intrigued and intimidated.

She's carrying him with practices hands, fingers tracing the tiny milk spots around his eyes and nose, when she finally notices something she hasn't seen before. His features are idly familiar to her, there's Hinata qualities, which she knows but there is something else.

It's a _problem_ that she recognizes the other features too. In fact, she's spent years admiring these features.

As if reading her mind, Toshiro looks up at her and yawns, giving her a look that could only exude boredom or maybe even apathy.

The medic is struck with a thought that makes her sick to her stomach. Robotically, she transfers the baby into Hinata's waiting arms. She doesn't remember what excuse she gives, but Hinata doesn't mind, she only has eyes for Toshiro.

Sakura leaps into the trees, and tears sting her eyes because the probability of her theory being true is high and she knows. She just knows…

xxi

"Shiro-kun, aren't you going to say goodbye to your Aunt Ino." The little boy grips her kimono tightly as he stands beside his mother.

"Ino-san, have a safe journey…and tell Sakura-san that I miss her." He hopes the worry isn't detected in his voice as he slides in the last part. His Aunt Sakura only comes once every few months. He knows she's busy and rarely get time off so he tries not to push it.

The four-year-old offers a small smile. He's missing one of his bottom teeth and Ino thinks he's the cutest thing she's ever seen.

"Shiro-kuuuun! You're such a cutie. I almost don't want to go." She kneels in front of him, pecking his forehead and ruffling his hair. "You be a good boy okay, protect your kaa-san."

He nods and leans closer to his mother's leg. Ino turns to Hinata with a warm smile, there's an underlying sadness in her gaze. Hinata doesn't dwell on it.

"Thank you so much, Ino-chan. I am grateful to have you as a friend. Thank Sakura-chan for me as well."

"Of course!" Ino grins and hug her friend. "Take care of yourselves!"

The two Hyuuga watch as Ino disappears into the night. Toshiro can no longer see the red swirl on the back of Ino's flak jacket, he wonders if she'll ever come back to visit. And despite himself, he misses her silly laughs.

xxii

When Hinata takes up a job in a small town nearby, she leaves Toshiro with and old woman who owns an apothecary just around the corner. She has grandchildren who visit often and even though Hinata is uneasy about leaving him alone, she determines that he needs to be independent. The world isn't always comfortable.

But there was something about Toshiro that drew people to him. He never did go out and deliberately make a friend, like she hoped, they just came to him.

It didn't hurt that he was a good looking boy. He'd give a dimpled smile and would tuck his curly hair behind ear when it got in his face; but it was more than that.

Shiro was quiet, but not out of painful bashfulness. It was his nature, like a conscious choice to discern the lie of the land before he got involved. Yet he wasn't stand-offish, he remained pleasant and welcoming in body language. He was an open book.

It was just the way he was. There was nothing threatening about him, nothing at all. He was an easy listener, a good audience, giving encouraging feedback laced with intelligent comments.

At six years old, he knows how to love people and things easily, unashamed of himself. Hinata could only be amazed. And then a fleeting thought crosses her mind: _if only his father could see him now._

xxiii

It's a late evening and Hinata has yet to return. Toshiro's been waiting patiently for her, a bit of concern is beginning to creep in and Kaede can see his shoulders droop in frustration.

"Come boy, you're not off the hook yet." She calls him over to where she's taking inventory. Her old eyes are losing its touch. "This is wild honeysuckle; can you tell me it's benefits?"

The young child eyes the plant with critical eyes. Its petals are bright yellow tubes and its leaves are oval-shaped lobes with a short stalk. He knows this one, his mother uses it and it doesn't take him more than a second to make his assessment and rattle of a description of it properties. She smiles and hands him her quill.

"Go ahead and write that down for me, dear."

He agrees happily because he loves to learn. The young boy absorbs knowledge like a sponge and by the end of the night, Toshiro's mind is filled with herb names, properties, and plant growth practices. Toshiro gives the woman a smile. He admires her wisdom and yearns to learn all he can from her.

He's never had an obaasan, so he figures that if it could be anybody, he'd like it to be Kaede.

xxiv

The wind blows easily, rustling the trees, critters scuttle about for a place to rest, crickets hum in unison, nature is lively tonight.

The moon is weaving in and out of ribbons of grey clouds scudding across the sky. Silver stars, like the scattered embers of a dying fire are winking down at her, illuminating the tremendous curtain called the sky. They burn brilliantly but not as vibrant as the star in her lap.

Toshiro is seated in-between her legs; he's watching the stars from where he lay as well. She runs her fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp lightly. He enjoys his mother's babying even now that he's no longer a child in the eyes of the world.

He will always be Hinata's child though, no matter what.

Her ministrations cease when she feels the familiar pulse of the curse mark on her forehead. _Not here, not now, please…_

She bites back a whimper, praying that the pain will fade. Hinata doesn't want to ruin this moment with her son. She doesn't want him to see her like this. After a few evenly paced deep breaths, the throbbing ebbs, but only a little.

Toshiro yawns and looks up at his mother whose face is twisted and contorted in agony. "K-Kaa-san?"

He gives her a worried look but his eyes are not on her face, his eyes are on the curse mark. She's sure it's glowing because his brown eyes are wide, as if it's something he hadn't noticed till now. "Kaa-san." He says again and this time he seems to understand something. Hinata doesn't know what, but he's comforting her. Toshiro kneels in front of her and pulls her into his small chest.

Somehow this makes Hinata feels a little worse because even now, her past still has control over her future, its dragged Toshiro into the fray as well.

xxv

When Hinata awakes the next morning, she's tucked firmly into bed but Toshiro is not lying beside her. She hears movement in the kitchen and smiles because she knows her son. He's probably attempting to make her breakfast.

Hurriedly she gets up and makes her way to the outer room, Hinata doesn't want him to burn down the house in an attempt to make porridge. But she's greeted by something else entirely.

Sasuke is sitting at her table. Toshiro is beside him.

It's a pull unlike anything she's ever felt. Suddenly she clamors over to where her son is seated. Her hair is wild, her eyes are bloodshot and watery. "Get _away_ from my son." Hinata snatches him out of his seat, dragging him to the door.

Toshiro is shocked by his mother's behavior and twists out of her grip.

"Kaa-san… y-you need to rest."

He looks between his mother and the man that claims to be his father and doesn't know what to think. For all his intelligence, he never considers the fact that he has a father out there, somewhere. Plenty of the children in town don't, it was normal _not_ to. There's a look of desperation in his mother's gaze and he knows this man speaks the truth.

The man, Sasuke, stands up and Toshiro gets into a defensive position in front of his mother. Hinata watches as Sasuke kneels in front of Toshiro and kisses his forehead.

"I'm happy to know you exist." The Uchiha says and Toshiro doesn't know why, but he gets the urge to cry.

Sasuke looks up at Hinata, the woman he couldn't see himself loving before and there's regret in his heart. She's still as beautiful as ever and she's even nurtured a part of him he didn't even know existed. But the apology dies on his lips at the glare she's giving him.

He walks up to her, places a kiss on her cheek and leaves just as quietly as he's come.

xxvi

Sasuke doesn't know what made him come back, curiosity maybe, but there was a need—a hunger to see Hinata again that wouldn't dissipate and he was not strong enough to ignore it.

Walking back into that old cottage, he was hit with a wave of nostalgia, not only of his time there alone, but also of the time he spent with the Hyuuga. She provided him with a sense of comfort he hadn't felt in a very long time, he was content with her company.

Looking around, he noted that the furniture was the same and that everything looked the same, and well kept. He reached the kitchen and paused.

At the sight of a child seated in the same spot he used to sit, his throat closed up. They stared at one another for what felt like forever. The boy took only a second to think and moved to run away but Sasuke was faster.

"Wait!" he whispered. There was desperation in his voice that was unfamiliar to him. "Please…"

He looked just like…like a strange mixture of him and his late mother, Hinata was present too in his features. But the oddest thing about him physically was the fact that he had hair just as curly as Shisui's if he remembered correctly.

The boy seemed to finally get a good look at him as well. His brown eyes darted all over his face. Sasuke could see the gears shifting in his head. "Tou-san?" a quiet voice came, it was uncertain and disbelieving. Sasuke felt his lip quiver.

"Yeah, that's… that's me." There was no denying it.

Sasuke sat down at the table and his son took a seat right beside him. "What's your name?"

The kid was quiet for moment, just watching him, taking mental notes of his voice and committing his face to memory. After a while he finally spoke. "My name is Hyuuga Toshiro."

"Toshiro." Sasuke repeated. "That's…good. My name is Sasuke."

For the first time, the Uchiha felt nervous under someone else's scrutiny. "Sasu…ke?" He finally said. Toshiro gave a half-smile and stood. "Would you like some tea?"

Sasuke blinked. The kid was a lot politer than he was at that age. He shook his head 'no'. He wondered where Hinata was but his question was answered as she appeared in the doorway like a ghost from his past.

xxvii

He didn't come back.

He didn't come back not once.

He didn't come back not once, until…until?

Toshiro sits out back with his crayons and paper. Hinata is watching him from the open kitchen window. They've had dinner, but she can't bring herself to tell him to go to bed. He hasn't asked her about Sasuke, not once but she knows he's interested, what child wouldn't be?

She is anxious and embarrassed, and scared all at the same time. Does Toshiro think ill of her for keeping this from him? What does Sasuke want? Will he come back and take her baby away?

Her questions are answered when she feels a flicker of his chakra, almost like he's warning her that he's close. She drops the dishes she's washing and sprints out just as his silhouette breaks through the forestry. She can feel Toshiro's gaze on them as Sasuke approaches. He has that guilty look on his face again but Hinata can't muster up another glare.

"Forgive me." Sasuke's voice is cracked and hoarse. His eyes are red and so is his nose…like he's been crying? "I don't deserve it but…I have to ask. For his sake."

His eyes look passed her and at her son—no their son. Hinata breaks. She takes a step closer to him and his arms wrap around her thin frame immediately. "Hinata, I'm so s-"

"You're forgiven."

A moment later Hinata feels that familiar pull at her kimono. "Shiro-kun," she murmurs through her tears and she pulls him closer too.

xxviii

They've been granted a second chance in more ways than one.

Neither can explain it.

Neither of them believe they deserve it, but when they look at what was born out of their loneliness, they can agree on one thing: this is happiness.

Toshiro is their happiness, the byproduct of the love that steadily grows between them.

Their greatest 'everything'.


End file.
